Animal trap



July 18, 1950 c. w. CRUMRINE ANIMAL TRAP Filed June 16, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 35 3o INVENTOR.

Cues-ran W. CRUMRINE u y 18, 1950 c. w. CRUMRINE 2,515,947

ANIMAL TRAP Filed June 16, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fns. 2.

I I l2.

INVENTOR.

/ CHESTER W CRUMQINE Q MM! y 1950 c. w. CRUMRINE 2,515,947

ANIMAL TRAP Filed June 16, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fae. 3.

IN V EN TOR.

(:HES'TER W CRUMR\NE y 1950 c. w. CRUMRINE 2,515,947

ANIMAL TRAP Filed June 16, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 50* 44 47 u R'Z'L'Q'Y 7 4o Dewar-2 22 52 25 SoupcE.

INVENTOR.

(Hes-ran CRUMRiNE Patented July 18, 1950 ss on-WENT aAp plioationJune lfi, 1944, Serial No. 540,563

' rms 'inveiitionielates to animal traps and 1 particularly "to""improvements in Eithe basic form 'ofianimal 'trap'idisclosedf'inl my prior (lo-pendin application Seri'aFNoi 493,988 jfild. J 111yi 9,f'?1943,

tober 1711944.

1n ithe animartrap ofthe': above identified app1ic'ation"'for fietterslatentimeans' are provided 'wherebmfafter anf initial trapping impulse" set off by"'the'"presence of"an'"'anima1" inqa 'predetermined trapping zone, the. successive :z iectradition. of the; animal, "disposal of the body, "and resetting "offth'eiwarious "finstrumentalities are "carried on automatically, and 'xtrhat is of importance "ifii'thSefiEViCes quitly arid "in such "manner" as'notto arouse"the""suspicion of" other ":aniinalsinthevicinity ofthe'trap.

I'nithe animal traptiwhiohiformstthe' subject *matt'erfof" the? present applioation" the operation of executing thevanimaiby electrocution is com f pleted" before movement of .theianimai 130a, point of ejection? fromithein'itial" trappingmean .for reasons;v of safety; Forrfuitherfreasons; of safety 10 Claims. (Ch-"43 74) other" features T or the de'signof: the present aniinvention are not limited excepting as" defined in the appended' claims. Inthe drawingsz "*F'ig. lf'is a"top"plan"viewi of one form ".of the trap of thepresentf'inventionfi ith" "the: casing portion shown'in cross section Fig? 2 is' a"cross-sectional Iview taken!" on the "line 11- 1101: Fig. 1;

parts shown-in'anoth'erj position 'inthe" cycle? of -trapoperation; t

Fig. 41s a fragmentaryperspective"view of one of the animal engagingiplates;

Figffi a fragmentary perspective view of a "portion-70f an' aninial engaging plate showing "further'detaiisthereof; and,

- FigfG iS a wiring diagram showing the elec- "trioai connections for effeeting an automatic "trapping cycle of operation.

Throughout the several figures "of""the""draw- -"ings; like characters of reference denote 'like parts andthe numeral 10. designates. generallyLa casing having sidewalls ll and IZ, noon and rear. end --walls l3 and MQ a-nda top on. closure 15. AI transverse-partition wall '16,. see Fig.3,

1 is;,pr0vid'ed to give i bearing support to Icertain "oflthe moving parts. ofthe device. 'It Willi-{he notd thatthelfrontand rearwalls'" l3laiid' 'l4 a're cut away'at their lower'edges, whereby to provide a clear passageway I T extending entirelythrough theldevice.

An, animal. passing through 'the passageway l 1 interrupts a light beam 18 "which emanatesllfrom a" light source 'I Qan'dis reflected across the lower part ofiithe passageway' I'Lby an'iirrorl 28? located at thefoppos'ite side of the, casingifromlthe' light "source. A mirror 2ll beneathl'thelight sourcerre- "fle'ctsithef beam I8 upwardly intonacasin ffn which contains aphotoeleotrio ccllor othei'fglight sensitivedevice. 'T'I'held'eta'ils of this, partbf the j trap will readily be understood. ,by ithose Tskilldrin "the 'art Without further delineationp a. commercial photo'electriclrelay, which; includes a photoelectric cell and, suitable. electronic iampliv I 'fy'ingdevices, maybe employed. The photoelecm'al trap; contribute to protect thosawho "mighfi ing. the? casing 2 2,the'1i'ght source 1.9, Land. the mirrors"20- and" 2 I as "illustrated in Fig, 2,1 ;it is "possible to conveniently, position ali-oft the, electrical parts which set'ithe'trap' into. operationat one pointin'thecasingl i0. fThelight source i-lil mayincln'de' suitable optical devicesiorlcOhverg- ,ing and concentratin the availableilli'ghtlinto alsuit'able' beam pattern.

The animal securing, and ldisposinghlemerits i'comprise' a pair of ,oppose'dfplate onpan'elw'members'24' and 25 Whioharei mountedafor swinging'movem'ent toward and. away from eachother by means of pairs of arms 26 .aridli, respecf' tivelyfThe arms 2l are-arranged toll-iave-ea fixed pivot axis by reason oft-the, provision one pivot, sha'ft28 which is' journa1ed..at.its endsvin the' front wall" 13 and the intermediate partition wall l6.

One end of eaohlofnajpair, of links3l1' hasea bearing on; pivot shaft? 28. The oppositeteridmf 'pivotally supports one of the .arms" 26. of,.-p1,ate 'member 24. )The arms'26 and"21"'formfparts;of 'bell crankswhose other arms 3hand 32, respectively, extend generally toward ea'chother as appears "from Figsfz arid3. "Each pair. of thearnis '3lf and, 32 have a, pinandfslot connection? "Whichcausesthem 'too's'ci11ate"synchronoiisly in their respective pivot axes, albeit in opposite directions.

The full line position of Fig. 2 illustrates the set position of the trap with the plates 24 and 25 urged toward each other, by extension spring 38 engaging the arms 26 and 21, but held in set position by a latch 39 which is pivotally mounted on the )partition l6, as is best illustrated in the upper left-hand corner of Fig. 1, and engages the inner edge of one of the arms 26. Referring further to Fig. l, the numeral 48 designates an electromagnet connected to the output leads 52 and 53 of the photoelectric relay whose armature 4| extends to pivotal engagement with latch 39. A spring 42 normally urges the armature outwardly but energization of the electromagnet 40 withdraws latch 39 incident to setting off of the trap.

The electrical arrangement is such that interruption of the light beam l8 activates the photoelectric relay to close a microswitch contained in the relay unit and momentarily energize electromagnet ll]. When this is done plates 24 and 25 move instantaneously to the dot and dash line positionof Fig. 2 where they engage forcibly against an animal therebetween. The numerals 44 and 45 designate electrical contact buttons 'which comprise the terminals of a conventional 110 volt lighting circuit and the arms 26 and 21 which are adjacent to the partition wall l6 are I provided with resilient contact elements 41 and 38 which are so disposed as'to engage the but- "tons 44 and 45 when the arms move to the dot and dash line position of Fig. 2. This automatiflcally establishes an electrocuting circuit including the plates 24 and 25 and it is found that the voltage indicated is sufiicient to eifectively electrocute rats, for instance, in a fairly brief period of time. Means are provided for retaining the plates 24 and 25 automatically in the dot and dash line position of Fig. 2 for whatever period of time is'determined to be a safe minimum.

In Fig. 2 the numeral 68 designatesa normally closed microswitch which, when the trap is, in set position, is held open by engagement of one of the arms 2'! with a button 6i thereof. As soon as the trap is sprung the arm 21 releases the butf ton 6| and the switch 60 closes andremains closed until the arm 21 returns to the full line position of Fig. 2 at the conclusion of a trapping, disposing and resetting cycle of operation. The switch 66 is in a circuit 62, Fig. 6, which includes an I electric motor 63.

sufficiently to complete the main motor circuit:

62. The choice of a suitable thermostatic switch will' of course be governed by the desired length "of v the electrocution period.

The motor 63 is supported against end wall l4 and'is provided with suitable reducing. gearing indicated at 66 whereby a crank shaft 61 extending therefrom operates at a speed in the fneighborhood of two revolutions per, minute,

which would result in an animal disposing cycle of thirty seconds duration. Rotation of thecrank shaft in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. ,2fmoves" a'crank 68 of crank shaft 61 tothe posin'ofFig 3, which shiftsa link 69 to the' -right as viewed in those figures and oscillates an arm fixed to rock shaft 28.

The first half revolution of the crank shaft 61 accordingly oscillates the arm 18 from the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 3 and the arms 21, which are fixed to the pivot shaft 28,.raise the arms 26 to thepositionof Fig. 3, the arms 21 meanwhile through :jcooper ation between arms 3| and 32, themselves moving to the position of Fig. 3. The links 38 meanwhile serve to maintain the proper center relationship between the arms 26 and 21.

For this reason the switch 68 The side wall H of the casing is fitted with closure means comprising a panel element 15 hinged at its upper edge to the wall I and a further panel 16 hinged at its upper edge to the lower edge of panel 15. Panels and 16 normally depend by reason of their own weight to close an ejection-opening formed in the wall I I. However, impingement of the plate 24 against the panel 15 moves it to the position of Fig. 3 and a bail element 11, hinged to the side wall I I at 18 and to the lower edge of the panel 16 as at 19, constrains the panel 16 to its'illustrated vertical position. This means prevents accidental ingress into the trap'casing and'accidental contact of persons with the electrocution instrumentalities. It is to be noted, however, that theelec'troouting circuititself is broken as soon as the arms 26 and 21 move from the dot and dash line position of Fig. 2. I

The position in which the arms are shown in Fig. 3 is what may be termed the animal ejecting position and inaddition to moving thearm to such position it is desired'to positively evacuate the trapped animal from between the plates 24 and 25. 'To this end the plate 25 is movable with respect to its supporting arms 21,,although the plate 24 may be rigid with respect to its supporting arms 26; As illustrated in detail in'Fig. 5', the plate 25 is in two spaced sections to avoid interference with the.light beam [8 when the plates are moving to their final reset position.

An inverted U-shaped bracket 83 bridges the space between the sections of plate 25 and is ,connected with the opposite arms 21 by rods 84 which may be riveted to the arms 21 and the bracket 83. The two sections of the plate 25 are each pivoted at their lower ends to bothof the arms 21, and both legs of the bracket 83, as shownat 85 and 86, respectively. The plates 25 are accordingly movable with respect to the arms 21 and the bracket 83 by pivotal movement about their lower edges.

To control such pivotal movement the upper end portions of the plates 25 are slotted for pivotal engagement with the outer ends of arms which are pivotally supported at their upper ends bybrackets 9] secured to the partition wall l 6 and the front wall l3 of the casing. The plates 25 are thus constrained substantially to their normal illustrated full line and dot and dash line positions of Fig.- 2, wherein the pivot of arm 98, the pivot shaft 28 and the pivots, of the plate 25 are in approximately a straight line-relationship. However, when arms 21.moveto.the position of Fig. 3 and the 'pivot' of arm'98, the pivot shaft 28, and the pivots 85 and 86, of plate 25 -form;sub-

'stantially a right-angle, the action of arm98 is to rotate'the plate 25' in.a counterclockwise direction relative to arms 21 and it is believed that the manner in which such action ejects anelectrocuted animal from the trap is obvious from a consideration of Fig. 3. f

T r e m an :i ,r l i s'znbvard means secured adjacent the top of said opening and normally depending thereacross, said closure means being moved to open position by and upon engagement of said plate means thereagainst upon movement to said disposal zone, and means for releasing an animal body from between said depending members at said disposal zone. o

.6. An animal trap comprising a casing having a trapping zone and a disposal zone, a pair of depending members swingable toward each other andhaving plate means at their lower ends to trap an animal therebetween in said trapping zone means for swinging said members toward each other to an entrapping position and for moving them laterally as a unit to move an animal trapped between said plate means to said disposal zone, said casing having a side wall opening at said disposal zone, flexible closure means secured adjacent the top of said opening and normally depending thereacross, said closure means being moved to open position by and upon engagement of said plate means thereagainst upon movement to said disposal zone, one of said plate means being movable with respect to its depending member and means for automatically moving it to dislodge a trapped animal at said disposal zone.

7. An animal trap comprising a casing having a trapping zone and a disposal Zone, a pair of depending members swingable toward each other and having plate means at their lower ends to trap an animal therebetween in said trapping zone, means normally disposing said depending members in open position, means for moving said members to and'holding them in entrapping position, means for moving said depending members as a unit to move an animal trapped between saidplate means to said disposal zone, one of said plate means being movable with respect to its associated depending member, and means for automatically moving said last mentioned plate means to dislodge a trapped animal at said disposal zone.

- 8. An animal trap comprising a casing having a trapping zone and a disposal zone, a pair of depending members swingable toward each other and having plate means at their lower ends to trap an animal therebetween in said trapping zone, means normally disposing said depending members in open position, means for moving said members to and holding them in entrapping position, means for moving said depending members as a unit to move an animal trapped between said plate means to said disposal zone, one of said plate means being pivotally connected to its associated depending member at its lower edge for movement about a horizontal axis and means operable upon terminal movement to said disposing zone for rotating said last mentioned plate means to move its upper edge toward the other plate means to traverse the space therebetweenand dislodge a trapped animal.

9. An animal trap comprising a casing having a trapping zone and a disposal zone, a pair of depending members swingable toward each other and having plate means at their lower ends to trap an animal therebetween in said trapping zone, means normally disposing said depending members in open position, means for moving said members to and holding them in entrapping position, means for moving said depending members as a unit to move an animal trapped between said plate means to said disposal zone, one of said plate means being pivotally connected to its associated depending member at its lower edge for movement about a horizontal axis and link means having a fixed pivot axis and a pivotal connection with the upper portion of said last mentioned plate means whereby movement of said last mentioned plate means to said disposing zone produces rotation thereof to move its upper edge toward the other plate means to traverse the space therebetween and dislodge a trapped animal.

10. An animal trap comprising a casing having a trapping zone and a disposal zone, a pair of depending members swingable toward each other and having plate means at their lower ends to trap an animal therebetween in said trapping zone, means normally disposing said depending members in open position, means for moving said members to and holding them in entrapping position, means for moving said depending members laterally as a unit to move an animal trapped between said plate means to said disposal zone, a substantially horizontally extending wall element disposed above said plate means at said trapping zone to define such zone, and means for dislodging an animal from between said plate means at said disposal zone.

CHESTER W. CRUMRINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 463,238 Wigger Nov. 1'7, 891 1,063,715 McCue June 3, 1913 1,116,565 Clow Nov. 10, 1914 2,229,300 Montroy Jan. 21, 1941 2,312,209 Colwell et al Feb. 23, 1943 2,348,729 Crumrine May 16, 1944 2,360,651 Crumrine Oct. 17, 1944 

